Lessons from a Live-Action Star Trek Simulator for Game Developers

"The pirates are hiding in a nearby nebula," a fleet officer informs us. "We can either explore them one at a time, risking the convoy's safety, or send probes into each one, alerting the pirates to our presence. Alternatively, we can proceed to the rendezvous and hope to avoid an ambush." We're standing on the bridge of the USC Havock, an immersive experience run by Parabolic Theatre under a railway arch in London. The strategies presented to us come near the end of our mission. Unlike many video game story choices, we can pivot at any moment. We could stop sending probes and venture into the nebulas ourselves or send out our shuttle crew to cover more ground. My friend, assigned as chief engineer, yelled during the inevitable battle: "If you don't get your act together, I'll hit the self-destruct button." Almost any action is an option. Allowing this sort of agency in an immersive theatre experience might seem easy, given human actors' ability to improvise and adapt. However, strip away the sets, lights, and sound, and Bridge Command is essentially a video game. The touchscreen bridge stations run on a modified version of EmptyEpsilon, a bridge simulator available on Steam, rendering graphics similar to the original Homeworld or earlier EVE Online versions. Owen Kingston, Bridge Command co-creator and Parabolic Theatre's artistic director, admits the show is free from many game development restrictions. He believes pushing past these restrictions is key to creating an experience like this. "People who make immersive experiences often clone the decision tree approach from role-playing games or choose-your-own-adventure novels," he tells GamesIndustry.biz. "However, this system isn't designed for live environments." Kingston explains that Bridge Command missions are written around emotional beats, with staff/actors adding events to deliver these beats while adapting to visitor reactions. "Our rule is, if you come up with something logical, as long as it fits the world, we'll run with it," he says. "We'll bend the story around that. A decision you've made might mean we drop in a new, unique plot beat, but it will fall at the same emotional moment as one of our planned events." Kingston believes video games will eventually move away from decision trees and provide more reactive storylines. "Decision trees have a customer service problem – the 'computer says no' issue," he explains. "If you ask your bank for something and they say 'Sorry, we can't do that, the computer says no', it's frustrating. We build this into games by closing off options that seem logical to the player." Bridge Command also offers inspiration for asymmetric multiplayer game developers. Each station has unique functionality and interfaces, fostering better teamwork and collaboration. "It ensures everyone is involved; you need everybody's skillset to make the ship fly," Kingston says. The immersive show remembers players, asking them to create a profile on their first visit. This information is used to record missions, events, and notable actions, allowing staff to plan missions accordingly for returning players. Kingston likens this to the nemesis system in Shadow of Mordor, making the player feel like their experience is unique.